Love the Way You Lie
by Erisella
Summary: Pre-Inception. The job was going to be harder than they expected. Eames decides the situation calls for some drinking. Sequel to Airplanes.


Love the Way You Lie

Summary: Pre-Inception. The job was going to be harder than they expected. Eames decides the situation calls for some drinking. Sequel to Airplanes.

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**Note:** I don't own Inception or the lyrics for "Love The Way You Lie".

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**1.**

The team was gathered again, three months after their previous job. Arthur had been looking forward to seeing Eames, but when the forger walked in the door of their hotel room, he couldn't help but give him the same irritated look he always gave.

"Happy to see me, darling?" Eames asked, holding his arms wide to present himself and announce his arrival.

"Don't flatter yourself," the point man answered with just a hint of venom in his voice.

Cobb saw it as the two not getting along, but secretly, Arthur was glad they were together again.

The job sounded easy. A business man for a global energy tycoon was suspected of embezzling money from the company. They simply had to find out if the rumors were true. It sounded like a quick in and out job.

Gathering information and background on the mark had been easy. The CEO of the energy tycoon had been able to supply them with a good amount of information and they hardly had to do much except for work out the finer details. The photos and recordings given to Eames allowed the forger to set to work right away.

Cobb already had a plan in mind before they were done for the day. They decided to set it into action two days later.

**2.**

The day before the job, Arthur stumbled onto something about their mark he knew they weren't ready for.

"He's been trained against extraction," the point man explained, "It'll be extremely hard to get what we want with his projections chasing us down. We won't be ready."

"A militarized mind," Eames groaned, "Why would a man like that need to guard his mind?"

"He's hiding something far bigger than we're ready to deal with," Arthur tried to explain, putting his worry into words.

"We move forward," Cobb said, his tone leaving no room for questions, "This'll be a quick in and out. We don't do anything unnecessary and if we play our cards right we'll be out before he even knows what's happening."

"This isn't a good idea," Arthur started.

"We move forward," the extractor said once more, this time as an order.

The point man backed down and didn't speak for the rest of the time they were there, going over the plan once more, tweaking it with the new information they had just obtained. When Cobb left the hotel room that night, Eames stayed and leaned against the wall, watching until the point man spoke.

"Did you need something?" Arthur asked, not in the mood for Eames' attitude. He was trying to decide how he would handle things on the job if it doesn't go the way they planned.

"What are you going to do if this all goes to hell in a hand basket?" the forger questioned.

"I'll do what I have to," the point man answered, annoyed by the question.

**3.**

Eames knew it wasn't a good idea, but he had to go through with it. He gripped the bottle of wine in his hand and took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Arthur's hotel room. When he got no answer, he knocked again. This time the sound of footsteps greeted him.

The door swung open and the point man glared at him, "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to greet me, darling?" Eames asked with a good natured smirk.

"I'll ask again, Mr. Eames. What do you want?"

The forger held up the bottle of wine, "Thought I might help you de-stress a bit."

"You do realize we have a job to do."

"Tomorrow is almost an eternity away and how can you possibly say no to my charms?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but stepped aside to allow the other man in. Eames immediately grabbed two glasses and uncorked the bottle of alcohol. He poured a generous glass for each of them and held one out for his teammate.

"You're trouble," Arthur said, reaching for his glass.

And Eames smirked.

**4.**

"Why are you a forger?" Arthur asked as he gently traced the rim of his glass with the tip of his index finger.

"Are we getting personal now, love?" Eames was intrigued. He had never expected the point man to ask about his past.

"Maybe," the younger man answered, not looking up from his drink.

The forger gulped the last of his wine and started to pour himself more, "There are things we should never reveal to our teammates. Wasn't that what they told us?"

"Maybe I'm curious."

"Everything I tell you could be a lie."

"I know. It's what you're good at doing."

Eames shook his head and laughed, "And that is why I'm a forger."

The point man set down his glass and contemplated for a moment. Eames studied the look on the younger man's face, that look of concentration as his mind raced. Arthur finally looked up and faced the forger, "Have you ever regretted lying?"

"Not yet."

**5.**

Arthur wasn't quite sure how it happened. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the memory of the last time they did a job together, when they were on the sea wall. Or maybe, it was the way Eames leaned so close he could feel the forger's warm breath on his face. Whatever had triggered it caused a feeling of strong need in him and he restrained himself. Eames however was never as controlled.

Their lips met, heatedly, their mouths tasting of alcohol. Unlike on the sea wall, this kiss was desperate, filled with need and undeniable feeling. It was surprising and comforting, but extremely scary.

The point man felt the forger's hand in his hair, tugging and caressing, and it made him long for more. But when Eames' hand snaked under his shirt, Arthur pulled away and the two sat there, too close and intimate, breathing hard.

"I can't do this," the younger man said before straightening up and moving away from the other man.

"Because I'm a man?"

"Because of our jobs."

Eames couldn't say he wasn't surprised by the answer. Of all that he had expected, it was the implications of their jobs that had been on Arthur's mind.

"Please, leave," the point man said, less of a request and more of a demand.

The forger walked out without question.

**6.**

It wasn't how the job was supposed to go. Arthur had done the best he could to distract the projections, but the dream was collapsing. Buildings were starting to come down and he had to run. He had to know if Cobb had gotten what he needed, but the projections were right behind him.

Hands grabbed at the back of his shirt and he hit the ground before he could react. As the projections hauled him to his feet, he felt the dream space trembling, as if hit by an earthquake.

A sharp jab in the side made him cry out. He tried to break free, but the projections were on him. They grabbed at him, stabbed him with what they had available, knives and pens. The pain was agonizing and he knew his death would be slow.

The sound of a gun going off distracted the projections and through the throng of people, the point man made out Eames, running for him. Then the projections are dropping like flies and he fell to the ground, aware of how helpless he must have looked.

Eames kneeled next to him, gun aimed at the point man's head. Arthur looked up at the other man and breathed, knowing what would happen soon. He saw the forger's finger tighten on the trigger and before the gun went off Arthur saw that look of doubt, of hesitation.

**7.**

"I'm sorry," Cobb apologized, knowing he should have listened to their point man, "I just wanted to get this job done."

"It's okay. The job was done." Arthur replied, "I know you wanted it done fast."

"No, you don't know. You don't know why," the extractor said, running a hand through his hair, looking tired and worn out, "Mal called me a week ago."

The point man waited, knowing Cobb would tell him when the moment was right. He glanced behind the extractor and saw Eames standing by the doorway, waiting for an explanation as well.

"She's pregnant," Cobb finally breathed, "We're having a second child."

And despite his frustration, Arthur smiled, "Congratulations."

Eames simply stood there, watching.

**8.**

Eames was smoking outside of the hotel when Arthur approached him. They stood in silence, both breathing in the cool, night air. The forger flicked the ash from his cigarette and wondered if he should speak, perhaps break the ice so they could both say what they wanted to say.

"Why do you always hesitate?" Arthur asked suddenly, facing Eames with a look the forger could only classify as uncertainty.

"Excuse me?"

"Whenever you have to kill me, you hesitate."

"No, I don't," Eames said, defensively, "You're seeing things, darling."

"You're a terrible liar," Arthur breathed with just the slightest hint of hurt in his voice. He shook his head and pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he started to walk away, "Goodbye, Eames."

The forger took a moment to let that sink in. The younger man didn't call him Mr. Eames.

_Just gonna stand there  
And watch me burn  
But that's alright  
Because I like  
The way it hurts  
Just gonna stand there  
And hear me cry  
But that's alright  
Because I love  
The way you lie  
I love the way you lie  
I love the way you lie_

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**Note:** Thank you all for reading and to those who left reviews on my previous story. Just a heads up, there will be a continuation of this in the form of another story, which I will work on soon. If you enjoyed this, please leave a review and thank you once again for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it.


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